Nihao nimen. Thought I'd post a general update this weekend while I had a few spare moments.  I have much less of those now.  I've started working full-time at a communications company here in Shanghai.  I've been hired mainly as a videographer but will be doing a bunch of other stuff that the company does too, like developing e-learning material and advertising stuff. I've already started on a big video project with some big corporate names and a local Chinese government so things are moving fast and furious. 

        I'm getting the chance to learn a whole bunch of new software and skills that I'm really excited about.  Their work is based on PC ( whereas I'm used to working on Mac), so I get the chance to really broaden my horizons (which looks great on the old resume).  It's really nice to get to do what I want to do and develop my professional self more.  This is a pretty amazing opportunity actually.  They brought me in to really spearhead video operations, not just do entry level grunt work.  I've already been doing storyboarding, some graphic design, shooting interviews, greenscreen work, script editing, video editing, and some audio editing.  All that in two weeks. It's especially nice because although I have a lot of responsibility there's a great team to share the workload and get shit done.  I love working for small companies that have their shit together.  I'm just lucky I actually found one.  I don't even think I could have this kind of chance back in the states right now.  It was a rough few months job hunting in another country and doing crazy shit jobs but I think it's all gonna pay off.  

        Me and Shan are getting really comfortable here and are enjoying our first real taste of being financially stable.  We've made some great new friends (both American and Chinese).  We're really starting to pick up the language now.  At least I can understand when people are asking me basic questions, even if I can only respond in the simplest of ways. Chinese is fucking difficult though.  For instance, we were at a restaurant today and, after ordering entirely too much food, I signaled the waitress and told her that we no longer wanted the soup.  The word for soup, sugar, and hot all sound identical to the untrained ear: "tang" with different intonations. After finally communicating that it was the soup I was talking about , not sugar, she told me that there is no sugar in the soup.  After another minute of seemingly random chinese and english words being thrown around she realized that I thought I had said the word for soup when really I said the word for sugar.  I didn't actually care at all about sugar, I just didn't want any soup. Problem solved.  We still had entirely too much food but at least we didn't have a giant vat of soup left over as well.  It's very difficult to go into a nice restaurant and only order what you can eat when the price of most dishes are between 50 cents and 4 dollars and are all family style. It is actually part of the eating culture here to order more than you could possibly eat when going out to eat with others. But I digress.  I think my Chinese is going to get much better now that I'm surrounded by it at work.  German, Chinese, and English are all being spoken regularly, often at the same time.  Definitely makes it quite interesting and good for my language learning and communication abilities.  

       The lifestyle change is taking some getting used to.  Until the new subway line near me is done with testing I'm gone from 8:30AM to 8PM and don't have much time to make food, or even eat, at home.  Still managing to get to the gym and go out with friends though.  So it's all good. That's it for the general work update now.  Me and Shan are taking a trip to Southern China next month.  We're pretty excited.  It's going to be during the Chinese New Years so it's bound to absolute crazyness.  It's estimated that 750 Million people are going to be traveling the country the same time we are.  I'll be sure to post pics and journal stuff after that if not before.        
                        

Hey Everyone. Long time no post.  You can probably guess why.  Getting adjusted and looking for a job in a different country with a completely different culture is no easy task.  It's been worth it but I don't ever remember going through things that I've gone through here.  There's entirely too much to post as every week seems like some crazyness unrelated to the last weeks crazyness.  Tough times, but good times.  I tend to enjoy any times that are interesting so these last couple of months have really taken the cake.  Most blog sites are blocked as well as facebook and a variety of other sites that make life that much more inconvenient.  I've got my google stuff, my skype, and now livejournal so I guess that'll have to do.  (Everyone should get skype by the way.  Then look me up and we can chat with no pants on, unbeknownst to the other.) 

Our apartment is fuckin amazing.  It's huge with hardwood floors, two bedrooms, grand views, a block away from the subway, a huge shopping district on one side and little mom and pops on the other.  An ancient water village is a mere ten minute walk.  Traffic is intense and just crossing the street is taking your life into your hands.  There are more bicycles and mopeds than cars but basically the street and sidewalks are "no law zones" where everyone has the right of way at the same time.  Which means you never really have the right of way if you enjoy living.  Also, our entire complex is being rebuilt while everyone continues living in it.  We basically live in the middle of a construction site from 5 in the morning until 6 at night.  Things change so fast here I would literally not even recognize the place compared to the first week we got here.  The street changes on a daily basis.  One day there's a sidewalk, the next day the sidewalk is completely ripped out, the next day there is a brick wall and a fountain where that used to be.  That's a slight exhageration but only because it took 5 days for them to do that, not three.   The building behind me was a white tiled block style building with no roof when we moved in, now it's a brown stuccoed villa with a red roof.  And a few blocks away, a group of streets that have been around for over 800 years.  There is really little to compare living here to.  There is an energy and lifestyle here that is hard to explain. Nothing is ever for sure.  Things are in constant flux.  But there are cultural things and ways of life that have remained the same for thousands of years.  Most business is based on face to face interaction and verbal agreements and most things are done under the table.  Haggling is a must and people sell things from any space available.  There is a threat of harsh punishment that you hear about but nobody seems to take it seriously at all.  People tend to do what they want, when they want.  At the same time there is a deeply ingrained sense of respect and order in many ways that it is lacking in the West.   

Needless to say this has been real culture shock.  China shares very little with Japanese culture or with American culture.  It's just different here.  We've had an amazing time and it seems like it's just going to get better.  We're starting to get to the point with our Chinese where we can at least get around and shop and eat.  Chinese makes Japanese seem as easy as pie but it's exciting when you get it right.  Always learning while I'm here, one way or another.  It can be overwhelming at times, both in a good way and bad.  I've already had plenty of experiences that I'll never forget and that'll make good stories to tell you guys.  I thought I'd just give you a general update about life and then go from there.  As we do, we've already done tons of exploring (including a trip to Beijing) and there are some pics up at:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/thepaytons/sets

I've heard that Shanghai isn't like the rest of China so most of my experiences have been Shanghai specific.  Beijing was definitely way different and it seems like everywhere else is completely different from everywhere else (almost every province has their own dialect or language altogether).   China is massive with several cultures that extend centuries.  It's been interesting so far. I've got stories that I'll try to post when I can.  I'm keeping a travel journal here so if nothing else I can just post some of those entries.  Tootles poddles.        

Hey everybody.  Sorry I haven't posted/ been in touch more but things have been a bit crazy for the last few months.  I'm actually surprised I found some free time to post.  I figured it would be easier then trying to call everyone but if you have free time this weekend feel free to call me. 

Anyways,  I just got back from visiting everyone I possibly could.  I've also been working all along the east coast.  So I've figured out I've been in 11 cities in 2 weeks.  If that sounds like a lot... it is.  I didn't have enough time to see people as much as I would have liked and unfortunately I couldn't see everyone that I wanted (Drew and Josh for instance).  The travels I did make were tied into seeing my grandparents who may or may not be here when I get back.  Fortunately, this did mean that I got to hang out with Adam, Nate, and Kevin.  So I am very grateful for that.   To all those that I didn't get to see, I apologize, and assure you that I love you and would happily give you a reach around when I see you next.

If getting rid of nearly all of your possessions and moving to China sounds crazy... it's because it is.  I've gradually discovered this over the past few months because as I've only worked part-time I still have barely been able to get everything for the move done.  I've just started packing 4 days before we move.  

Honestly, I haven't had much time to even think about the move.  I had planned on being conversational in Mandarin... not quite, wanted to see all my friends and family before I went... saw  some, wanted to be rested and relaxed before I go.. the only time I've had to relax is on the bus or train to visit someone, wanted to have a job for myself (shan has a great one) lined up before I went... applied to a couple and haven't heard back from them.   But, after all this complaining and dissappointment I also realize that its a miracle that I'm even going to have everything done to get over there and that I really did get to see a lot of people (great time with Adam) .  I'm exhausted but feeling a big sense of accomplishment looking back at everything I've done to make this happen.

So I plan on keeping in touch.  I'm going to look into getting a 360 in China so I can game with you guys.  We're gonna have a blog, which I'll give you a link to whenn it's up.  Love all a yous.  Here's hoping we don't get quarantined and can make it to our apartment in Shanghai safely.             

Well, as usual I’m writing only after a ridiculous amount of stuff has happened since the last time I posted.  Oh well, such is life.  Another long but necessary update.  I’ll keep this post to probably the most important new life event.

It’s been a part time job just getting ready for the move and figuring out all the details and paperwork.  Pile that on top of freelance work all along the East Coast and a part/full-time job catering to make the big bucks and I’ve been all too busy again.  In fact, simply trying to get a time when both me and Shannon are available to have dinner or just stop by and visit friends has turned out to be a arduous task that takes weeks to happen unless its completely spur of the moment.  But, all of this is not for naught.  The reason both me and Shannon are so busy is because we’re working our asses off and doing all the necessary things to MOVE TO CHINA!!!

 Yes, that’s right.  If you haven’t heard we’re moving in late August to Shanghai.  The story of how this all came to be is entirely too long of a story and worthy only of telling in person.   Long story short: personal struggles, lots of lost opportunities and uncertainty mixed with incredible timing of things and one bizarre happenstance after another leads Shannon to get a job at an international school in Shanghai and us to somehow already have pretty much everything ready to make it happen (outside of some of the money, which is why we’re working our tails off).  We’ve started learning Chinese in our spare time and I have been reading anything I can get my hands on about China.  Pretty much the only thing left to do is get our Visas and secure our new apartment with the help of Shannon’s employer.  I also have to figure out exactly what I’m going to do there.  What I’d really like to happen is to find some film work there.  Shanghai is the place to go in China for film stuff and the international community is big enough I could actually work on projects for American companies.  If all else fails though I’ll probably just pick up some teaching part time.  The great thing is that Shannon is going to be making even more than she would working in the States as a teacher so we’re gonna be doing well, even without a second income. 

Yes.  We’re excited. And have no idea exactly what we are getting ourselves into but that’s a lot of the fun.  We’re going to be there exactly one year, August to August.  We’ve let our families know and are now spreading the news to friends because its definitely going to happen. 

 Since we’re going to be gone for a whole year we’re trying to see everyone we possibly can over the summer.  I might even be coming out to the West Coast if all goes according to plan.  Since only my close friends have access to my livejournal, if you are reading this then e-mail me, call me, etc so we can make plans to see each other.  We’re leaving our apartment at the end of July and will be traveling and seeing people until we leave for China on August 25^th.  I plan on at least having a week in Cincy to see my family and will be traveling to Indiana and Illinois so a trip to Chicago could be arranged as well.  Also, I’m letting everyone know that if you have ever wanted to go to Shanghai then next year is the time to do it.  We would love to have anyone come and visit us for as long as they want when we’re over there.  The deal as of right now is that if you get the airfare we’ll get everything while you’re in China.  I’ve seen roundtrip deals anywhere from 600 to 1300 on the cheap end.  So if you’ve got the time, desire, or money to make it happen next year I guarantee I will make it worth your while.  If not, then ,believe me, I understand and I’ll keep in touch while I’m over there with plenty of blogs and pictures.  That’s it on the China front.  Getting ready for summer and to make the big move.     

So things have been a little crazy lately.  Lots of things to talk about but not sure if I want to spend the next 5 hours on livejournal.  Maybe I'll parse it out over the weekend, maybe not.  So I guess I'll just talk about my work situation now.
       The company I work for is slowly going out of business, mostly because of my boss.  Everyone has dropped back to part time, including me.  I've had to start doing some freelance work and catering to help pay the bills.  I'm pretty much just caught in the middle of everything right now.  I would just pickup and leave except 1) It still provides a paycheck 2)I've been working on this documentary through the company about gun violence that I think could be a big deal down the road and 3)I don't want to leave on bad terms because I would like to keep these people as resources for my career.  I'm pretty much essential for them to have any production capability at all so just up and leaving could be the final straw for the company's failure.
         I'm also stuck with what I want/am able to do after leaving this job.  It's possible that after I leave I can continue doing freelance work for them.  To start doing freelance work full-time I really need to to get my own equipment.  This is a big chunck of change that I don't have right now because I've been supporting both me and Shannon as she has to teach full time and not get paid for it during her last semester at school.  Requirements for educators are ridiculous but that's a whole other story.  Thankfully, after she graduates she should have a well-paying job ready for her.  Anyways, you all know that we were planning on living abroad in China.  We are definitely going to try to do that but it's created some problems in the short term.  We have to wait for Shannon to graduate in July before we go.  Shannon is teaching at a school right now where a 1st grade teacher position is opening up.  If she gets offered the position she pretty much has to take it.  It's a teachers dream school, especially right out of college.  If that happens that would mean that China might have ot be confined to a summer trip of 2 or 3 months because you can't just teach at a school for a year and then leave, you'll never get hired again.  If she isn't offered the job, no big deal, we can go to China.  
         I just applied to a fellowship program with the city government today.  If I got that it would mean I would have to work in the government until August of next year (while getting a government employees pay and benefits!) which would push back China until fall of 2011.  This would still be great because Shan and I could work for a year and have some savings to fall back on for our trip.
         I'm really stuck though because if I don't get this fellowship then I'm torn between going full steam ahead with my film/non-profit career and not wanting to get too tied up in stuff which would make it even harder to leave and live abroad.  I've been forced to really play the waiting game to see how things are going to pan out. For someone who is used to working on so many goals at once and having so much control of their life, it's hard for me to just have to wait and let things that are out of my control play out.
         Well, that's it for now.  I just wanted to update on my work life, I guess, because it's been consuming a lot of my thoughts lately.  Other than that things are going well.  Been having plenty of crazy times which I will update you on later.          
 

       I had one of those weekends that just make you realize how interesting life is.  Sometimes you get caught up in things or don't have time or sometimes there might be nothing going on that you think is special but then you have a weekend like this and you take a step back from things and life blows you away. 
       It really started in West Philly on Thursday.  I went out to Mill Creek Tavern with Jordan to watch the Phils.  It was a rousing game and being in a local watering hole during any sort of Philadelphia sports team game is crazy, let alone a playoff game.  The Milcreek is an amazing place.  Every type of person and customer imaginable.  You have your 40 somethings that go every night to drink away sorrows and share funny stories with their friend, the bartender and anyone who will listen.  You have your older crowd of neighborhood musicians who come for the live music every night (it's an important place in the West Philly funk/rock/experimental/bluegrass music scene that's getting pretty big thanks to Dr. Dog) and want to see what the younger musicians are doing these days.  Everyone from the old jazz-head to the hippie folk singer.   Then there is the younger musician crowd who party a lot and play a lot of music.  A very tight knit community of musicians that my friend Jordan happens to be a part of.   Then there are the sports fans who are comprised of older black men, a younger 20 something crowd and a few thugged out dudes with massive amounts of tatoos.  The crazy thing about the Milcreek is that they are all sitting next to each other, laughing with each other, and giving each other high-fives when the Phils make a great play.  It's always amazing to see (I've found this all over Philly) people that the mainstream tell you should have nothing in common hanging out together and not giving a fuck about differences.  There will always be self segregation (Philly has tons of that too) but being in a place without it is really a fascinating thing.  
      Me and Jordan talked about life and caught up a bit.  One of those conversations that make you think " Fuck, we're old.  That's a conversation old people hanging out at a bar have while watching a baseball game and drinking a pitcher of beer." 
      On Saturday, I had made plans to meet up with Kevaughn and Rob to go see Obama at 52nd street.  He was touring Philly and giving speeches in residential neighborhhods.  Due to Philly's layout this is possible because there is a retail street full stores and wider streets every 5 blocks or so (even in every residential neighborhood).  I figured there wouldn't be that much of a turnout just because he only announced it a few days before and he was doing it in some of the roughest neighborhoods in the country (also some of the most interesting).  Well, I was wrong.  When he stopped in West Philly to give a speech there were about 20,000 people huddled together on 52nd street for about 6 or 7 blocks.  Needless to say it was a crazy and moving experience.  Everyone was there but most people were actually just from the neighborhood (which made me remember exactly how big Philly is.  The number of types of people there was staggering but the makeup of the community was strongly represented.  About 2/3 of the people were black.  After living in West Philly for 5 years the term black means very little.  The amount of diversity within the black community is ridiculous.  You have West Africans, East Africans, people from the carribean, and African Americans whom all talk in different languages, wear different clothes, have different family structures, live different lifestyles, and treat people differently.  The rest of the crowd was made up of absolutely everything else from the Uber-jew couple with their baby standing behind me to the very lesbian couple in front of me (although homosexaulity is not a race it defintely can be an identity that  a person takes on stronger than any of their other traits).  
        He gave a rousing speech which made everyone cheer and boo.  Typical.  The overall atmosphere was incredible though.  Here is a presidential candidate, standing in front of a completely impoverished  to middle class crowd, made up of every ethnicity, in front of an intersection that has been labeled one of the most highly drug-trafficked corners in all of america and he was able to tell stories that related to us.  He was able to say things that inspired hope and excited everyone's heart.  Here we have the rebirth of an American dream.  Not the dream of having gobs of money and a big house with a yard in the burbs, but a dream of a man with humble beginnings rising to become the leader of the country.   A dream of having everything stacked against you, working, and aspiring to success.  A dream of taking care of your family whatever type of neighborhood you live in, whatever you look like, and however much money you can bring in.  Everyone felt it.  The homeless man felt it, the drug-dealer felt it, the suburbanite felt it, the college student felt it, and the immigrant felt it. I felt it.
        Me, Rob, and Kevaughn decided to go to our favorite Halal food place on 45th street.  Saad's is like food heaven on earth.  This heaven is both Muslim and cheap.  It's across the street from a mosque and in the middle of a Muslim community.  There are always women in burkas and music in Arabic playing but it is a very open community.   Saad, the owner, is on a first name basis with hundreds of cutomers, including me and Kevaughn. and is possibly the friendliest, warmest person on Earth.  He makes an incredible fallafel and grape-leave sandwhich and the best roast chicken you'll ever have.  The line was out the door because of the rally and all of the regulars were confused when they came by (it's usually crowded but this was ridiculous).  We had to wait a half hour for our food so we went to the second mile thrift shop and I   bought a really nice sports jacket and two sweaters for 10 bucks total.  Everyone and their mother in this neighborhood uses this thrift shop (there is actaully an entire block of thrift shops selling different things) and it acts as basically as a marketplace for people to trade things.  There is always a new stock and there are alwasy ton's of designer and really fashionable clothes for next to nothing.  It's just understood that when you need to get rid of something you take it here.  It's a non-profit and it keeps things in the community and gives jobs to people in the community.  It's its own community within itself really.  
      We went and picked up the food and headed to my freind Elisa's house to eat it.  She wasn't there but Kevaughn crashes in the basement all the time (she's been his girlfriend for a few years) and her parents are really nice people from St. Lucia (they are always cooking carribean food that smells amazing).  She lives in a neighborhood where everyone knows each other, everyone is black, and it can be quite dangerous for anyone who is not from the neighborhood, even if you're black.  That's the way much of Philly is, close-knit communities that are more tied to their block and neighbors than anything else.  This is why big gangs can't exist in Philly.  Everyone is loyal to their nieghborhood and doesn't give a fuck about other places(an over-generalization but defintly a strong theme amoungst Philadlephians).  
      Afterwards, me and Kevaughn went to a City Year Alumni party  at a new Bar on Broad Street (Center City).  We saw a few people we knew  and the bar was cool for a while.  But then the Center City Saturday night crowd started coming in chalked full of soon-to-be trophy wives and yuppies.  The always interesting and mixed crowd that is CIty Year held its' own at the bar but it got to be overwhelmingly loud and crowded.  Me and Kevaughn decided to duck out and hit up another few bars before the night was through.  We went to McGillans which is an amazing and old (like 1820) pub tucked away in a back alley in the gayborhood but it was way too crowded adn loud too (this is one of the reasons I alwasy go to bars on Weekdays instead of Saturdays).  Then we hit up Time.  Time is awesome and I wish I had had time to take you all there when you were here.  It has a really nice chill atmosphere with live jazz music in one room, a typical louder bar in another, and upstairs is the absinthe lounge.  We decided to have some Absinthe and enjoy the crazy light show they constantly have going on.  There were only a few people there because it was still early for this kind of place so we decided to talk to the bartender.  She was really nice and really cute.  Kevaughn is in the midst of trying to find a new girlfriend so we talk about relationships and girls a lot and both work at scoping out girls for him.  He's an extremely nice guy but it plays against him because he never wants to hit on anyone too overtly or be to aggressive because he  is old-school polite and romantic (we have that trait in common).  I'm working on him because now I can live vicariously through him and get him to do things I can't (heh).  This came about because I had my first "wait, shit, I'm married moment." with the bartender. 
        Now, I'm very comfortable with myself and very comfortable around women.  This is great because I can make friends quickly with any gender.  I had a hard time in college because I realized that to many girls (mostly at school and in bars) this means that either you are interested in them or are easy to talk to and are probably more likable then their boyfriend (a very dangerous thing).   This is why I tried to keep talking to random girls to a minimum.  I proved this point to Shannon when she told me she had a couple of "guy friends" in her classes.  I am not the jealous type at all but i know "people" and men especially very well.  It's a long story but basically I informed her that their niceness was probably an attempt at trying to get with her (whether it be in a harmless way or in a more usual guy way, much less harmless).  She, of course, got mad and accused me of being jealous and not helping her make new friends.  To make a long story short they hit on her and then continued to do it afterwards, even after she told them she had a boyfriend.  One of them even invited her to come "hang out in his dorm room".  When she told me this I told her that I was going to go "hang out in his dorm room".  If there is anything I hate more than disrepecting women, it's hitting on women women that you know are in monogomous relationships, especially my woman.  She told me she didn't want me to do anyhting even though she was pissed off at him and now had lost hope in making random friends that were men. 
            All this to bring me back to the point that most (especially attractive) women know this already and are taken back when a random guy talks nice to them without having any intention on doing anytinhg other than chatting person to person.  But now that I'm married and have a wedding ring (which every woman notices immediately) I don't feel as bad for engaging random women in conversation.  The ring is always a fall back to let them know I'm just a freindly guy without having to actaully say it.   I realized that this could also be taken as I'm a really huge duochebag and, even though I'm married, I'm still trying to hit on you.  I've determined that this probably won't happen because if I was really doing this I could simply take the ring off before I went out.  Anyways, now that I don't feel akward talking to anyone it opened me up to talking with a cute bartender and not feeling bad about it.  This bartendar happened to be really cool and cute and then I had the "oh, shit, I'm married moment".  Not because I wish I wasn't married but because it was so easy and enjoyable to talk to someone and not have to think about any of the millions of other things that usually go on in your head when you are talking to someone you find attractive and interesting.  I didn't have to care about anything, I know that I wouldn't ever cheat on Shannon and she knows that too (and visa-versa).  An interesting mix of emotions.  Me and Shan talk about absolutely everything and are completely honest and open with our feelings, which can be hard sometimes, but is exactly why I could mary her and we will always have an amazing relationship.  I just wanted to say that because anything I write in this journal is knowledge to her and she is my wife and I share everything with her.  It's a disclaimer but also a bit of advice from being in a good long-term relationship.  If you are keeping things from your signifigant other then you have to ask yourself why.  If the answer is:because it would upset them or it might shake up the relationship then the relationship won't ever be as fulfilling or strong as it could be.  This isn't necessary for short term relationships but if you want to have a long one you owe it to yourself and your partner to do it.  

         Wow.  I got way off track... but, then again, it is a journal.  Continuing with the amazing weekend.  On Sunday me and Shan went to an orchard outside of Philly with her family.  It was so nice to just go pick apples and eat them and walk around on dirt.  It's amazing what just being on some dirt and having no where to go can do for a city dweller.  (Linvilla orchards, pronounced Linville by the southern Italians in South Philly.  I just found out that its actaul name is Linvilla and that the Soiuthern Italian dialect of dropping off the end vowel sound in Italian also carried into most English for South Philadlephians.  This explains many people's inability to understand people from South Philly and the incredibly thick dialect and lingo that Italian Americans have become famous for.)
       Shannon's grandparents have been coming to this orchard for over fifty years.  Along with the Jersey shore and other places it is a mainstay for people from the huge East Coast cities to make day-trips to.  Around here (and like California from what I hear) most people live in Cities.  A lot of the little countreyside wineries and vacation spots that would normally see sparse vacationers see huge numbers of people.  Linvilla is a place for people from Philly and New York to come and pick apples.  There are plenty of other orchards around too but I haven't been to any of them.  You can go to them on a weekday and its similar to the ones we have in the midwest, a few families of rural people hanging out and getting groceries.  But on the weekend during the fall it becomes an amusement park for citydwellers who aren't used to being in the middle of nowhere.  Huge amounts of people come here with their families and it turns into an orchrd full of people from South Philly and Brooklyn.  Giant guys with tatoos and women with heels abound.  Truly an interesting experience.  Absolutely everyone is dawning sports gear to represnet either Philly or NYC.  The rivalry between us runs deeper than most sports afficianados cound understand.
       After the orchard we left and went to dinner at a little Italian place in South Philly.  I wish I could explain it more in depth but I'm getting tired of writing and I could honestly write a book on culture in South Philly.  We are greeted by a guy with an open shirt and a giant gold chain and speaks with a thick accent.  He escorts us to our seats where the waitress (a big, freindly Italian lady) sits us down and starts chatting up a storm with all of us like we've known her for ten years.  Shannon's family had been there a few times before but she remebered them and knew exactly what they wanted and what they were allergic to.  We drank wine and ate tons of amazing food.  We even had food that wasn't on the menu.  It was literally like being in an old Italian kitchen and asking for whatever you want.  Pictures of "Blue Eyes" adorned the wall and Billy Holiday wrang out from the jukebox.  And I was here, at this place, eating food with my new family and being a part of this culture that, 5 years ago, I didn't even know existed outside of the movies.  
       We came home and watched Lord of War which was an incredible movie.  I had some time to reflect and am now finishing up this journal entry after waking up at 4AM to walk Shannon to work and not being able to go back to sleep.  I've got to go to work in an hour on the 18th floor of a building downtown editing a video for a marketing movie that is selling a new green air conditioners to possible investors.  
       Just one of those moments that make you take a step back and say "crazyness" in a very contented, grateful way.                                                             
       

        So after the wedding we have a little money and Shannon absolutely has to have internet for school so we decide to get Comcast double play, a catchy name for reaming you with expensive cable from behind while making you suck their internet's jewel encrusted dick.  A sort of Comcast threesome dilemna with a chick and a dude, if you will.  Having the threesome sounds like it'd be worth it if the chick was hot (having cable and fast internet) until you actaully do it and hate the fact that there is another hairy dude in their with you (the cable bill).  But we really need the internet and what's a little akward touching of another man's ballsack anyways. 
         I call comcast and tell them that I want the special.  I tell them that I know the deal only lasts 6 moths and ask what the price will be after the deal is over.  They are unable to tell me.  i guess there are no fixed prices for their services if you're not part of an advertized special so they charge you whatever the hell they feel like at the time.  Seems perfectly understandable to me.  I'll take it.  
         They inform me that it will take two weeks to get a cable guy out there to set it up.  You can imagine my confusion about the delay as I can see Comcast headquarters from my apartment window two blocks away.   I ask them if I can just set it up myself and save them the time and money.  They say the cable guy has to come to test the wires.  I thought about asking if I could stop by their building and grab a guy on his lunch break but I thought it better not to get into a conversation concerning anything practical.  I ask them how much this costs.  She says nothing.  I ask her how much this really costs.  She says there's only a $25 charge for the installation.  I respond with with a "that's reasonable... so how much will I actaully be paying after it is installed?"   She lets me know that she doesn't know this information and that the cable guy will be able to tell me.  It's nice actually being able to talk to someone in person right off the bat, even if they can't give you a straight answer because they know they will take all of your money, no matter how much you think you have.  When you;re used to eating shit, rotten food doesn't taste so bad.
          Amazingly a real life person calls me back to set up an appointment.   They will be coming sometime between 12 and 4.  I knew what this meant.  They will coming at 5 but if I'm not there when they call then they have a right to move on to the next job and I'll have to go without until I can schedule another apointment.  Fuck that.  I'm taking off work.  The guy comes earlier than expected, 4 o'clock.  That's a soild 75 bucks I just gave up to wait for him.  A small price to pay for the elusive internet that even large companies refuse to give me.  
         I show him the connection.  He examines it.  We chat a little bit Philly style and he says that my cable runs to nowhere.  He doesn't know why the fuck the cable runs to the roof when the box is in the basement.  I agree with a what the fuck.  He says its some shit but he can have someone come out and run a cable from the box in the front of the building to my outlet on the third floor in the back of the building.  This sounds exepensive and like a really big task that I'm not so sure anyone would actaully be able to perform.  But he calls it in and makes an appointment for me to have a "post wire" and then an installation the same day.  That's nice of them.  At least I only have to take off another full day of work so they can come and install my cable.  This is especially aggravating because my landlord told me the apartment was cable ready when we moved in.  Turns out he's a lying sack of shit.  He didn;t even know where the cable box to the building was.  He knows very little about the building other than money somehow comes out of it in the form of rent checks.   He doesn't ask questions.  If it's broke, why fix it?  The rent checks seems to come regardless.  
      So I take off another full day.  To be honest I don't expect to have anyhting at the end of the day other than another appointment to fix whatever problem we encounter that day.  The guy gets here right on time, right before he would be late.  He asks me some questions and then asks me to come with him.  I think this a bit strange but there's tons of people around and he seems like a nice guy so he probably won;'t rape me in the alley (at least not while in uniform).  We get to his truck where he gives me a bunch of tools and wire and says to take them down to the basement.  Me first thought was, yeah sure.  My second thought was, wait, isn't this your job?  Why the fuck am I carrying your tools?  My third and final thought was how great it would be to actaully have internet.  So I took his tools down for him.  After a bit of destroying the basement of the hair salon I live above he figured out what he needed to do.  He needed me to run the cable through the drop ceiling.  He would help. 
       I was guiding the cable to him while he was standing on a chair, reaching into the ceiling when  he screamed "Shit!  what the fuck was that?!" and was thrown off the chair.  It turns out there is an exposed cable which his arm nudged and gave hima huge electrical shock.  If he would have grabbed it it probably would have electricuted him.  After a few minutes of him cursing ou thte wire I told him that I would call my landlord to get him to come and fix the wire.  He seemed to want to just get the job done so we continued with caution.  (I did call my landlord and since it was such a dire problem that could result in mortality he sent someone out a few days later.  I hooked up my fire alarms and waited to smell smoke and jump out of my window until then.)
        The cable guy managed to get the cable all the way to right underneath my window.  The only problem was my window was three stories up.  we had no ladder and we couldn't run teh cable out the window because he had already run it through the basement.  I was confused but he seemed to know exactly how to do this type of thing.  He told me to run up and look out my window.  He was going to get something out of his truck.  By the time I got up to my window and looked out he had fashioned a spear out of metal rods which he attached the cable to.
         He told me he was going to throw it up to me.  Now, common sense told me that trying to catch a metal spear being thrown at me while hanging out of a three story window was a little bit dangerous... no, stupid.  But this was the only thing (at the time) keeping me from getting internet.  So I told him to toss that bitch up here.  After a few tries and a near fatal skewering of a cable guy in an alley I caught it and pulled the cable into my apartment.  He looked around for something and then asked me if I saw his computer looking tool that tested the cable.  I did.  I could tell he was still alittle flustered from being nearly electricuted when he told me to throw his computer out my window... three stories down... and he would catch it.  I thought about the possible options.  I could just run it down to him but that would take valuable time and would be the safe thing to do.  That was out of the question.  If I did throw it there were three possible outcomes.  One, he would miss it and it would break.  Two, he would catch it and get hurt because he just caught a computer that was thrown out of a three story window.  Or, lastly, he could catch it and do whatever he needed to do with it.  Since he could't really blame me for hurting him and I knew that I could throw it right to him so he would at least break its fall I decided to chuck his mini computer out my window.
        He caught it with a thud and did whatever it was that he needed to do.  He came upstairs and finished the job.  I thanked him for coming out and risking his life to install my cable/internet.  We chatted a bit, again Philly style and then I saw him off.  I was a little flustered and confused.  Did I just do all of that?  What if I wasn't willing to do all of those crazy ass things? He had thanked me for helping him out and that if I hadn't of it would have take him forwever.  The fact is, that it wasn't physically possible for one man to do all that.  Okay, maybe feeding the cable through the ceiling by himself but did he really expect to toss a spear three strories up into my window? I realized that if I hadn't been able to help I probably would have either been shit out of luck or he would have had to try and run a cable through all of the other apartments which would have take days.  Whatever.  I had a cable outlet that was ready for cable and internet.  This was my last stand.  i couldn't fail now.  If I came out of this day without internet I was going to march over to the world's larget LCD screen at Comcast headquarters and piss all over it.  Then I was going to punch the guard in the face when he tried to stop me and proceed to get beat down while pissing all over everything and causing a scene, maybe even a small blurb in the corner of the Metro scene.  
     The final cable descended into my door like an angel sent by heaven.  By this point I was getting delusional and could have sworn I actaully saw a halo.  Anyways, he came up, chatted a little bit philly style, and had our cable and internet hooked up within 10 minutes.  My immediate thought was: this isn;t actaully going to work.  But sure enough it did.  I did it. Of course I thought if only I had simply called Comcast to begin with and my landlord had actaully installed the cable like he said he had, it would have been a painless little appointment that I wouldn't have given a second thought to.  But you know what, I've been to telecom hell and back and now I can face anything.  I don;t see those 40 hours and two work days I gave up as wasted.  No, they were making me a stronger person.  And for that, I was grateful.  But, mostly, i was just finally happy to give my hard earned money away for a simple service that costs them little to provide.
         The next day I woke up, eager to check my e-mail from my own home.  I was quite chipper and felt a sense of relief and accomplishment I hadn;t felt in a while. 
         Honestly, though, I wasn't at all that surprised when my computer crashed and refused to boot up. I mean, statistically there was no reason why I should have a working computer and the internet together.  That is asking entirely too much of statistics.  I tried Shannon's laptop but I knew the result before i even plugged it in.  The virus on her computer was so fubared we couldn't get it to recognize the modem and we couldn't even get it to burn a backup disk so that we could re-install windows and wipe her discs clean.  I didn't really feel defeated by this time.  It was laugh out loud funny.  
         So now, after months of hard work, I have internet but no computer to use it on.  I do the only thing a guy in my position could do.  I called my brother to research a new computer for me.  i couldn't do my own research because, well, I din't have a computer.  Thankfuly, my brother is the man and found an amazing laptop that was perfect for taking with us when we travel abroad.  I had to give him all my information so he could order it for us too.  He did, and within two days we had computer and the internet.  The journey had at last come to an end... or did it?
        Less than a week after having the internet installed I received a bill.  I thought this was typical Comcast, already sending me a bill before I even got to enjoy my internet and cable fully.  I opened it up.  As far as my estimates had gone it was 66 a month for cable and internet combined, plus a 25 dollar installation charge.  Throw in some taxes and it should be around 100 dollars.  Wrong.  Fucking $350.
        I wen t down the list of charges meticulously.  It was a bunch of stuff but it was all well labeled.  That was their mistake.  i could tell what things that I should be paying and what things they had no right to chrage me fore.  I'll be damned if I'm going to give up a week of salary to fucking comcast for shit that they just decided to charge me without telling me.  So I gave them a little call.  
       Surprisingly, the guy on the phone actaully was helpful and understanding.  I think the fact that I coulod explain exactly why nearly every charge on the bill was bullshit made him understand.  He wasn't automated and he wasn't from India.  i have to give Comcast credit for that.  I was able to explain to hijm that I essentially installed my own cable, I was told by a Comcast representative that there would be no additional charges outside of the 25$, that I was only supposed to be paying 66 for combined internet and cable instead of 66 for each, and that I hadn't been receiving cable for a month but rather less than a week.  He talked to his manager and was able to shave off most of the stuff.  I had to take renting a cable box from them at $3 a month and the fact that they charge me for two months at a time without warning as a sacrifice to the internet gods.  
       I'm still waiting to get my new bill from Comcast but fully expect it to have to call them again every time I get a new bill for the rest of my life and bitch at them for charging me for whatever comes to their head at the time.  But for now, I'm sitting up at 4 in the morning and typing on my internet on my new computer because I drank a bunch of green tea before going to bed and then, being so elated I had intenet, having to tell you all of the epic journey that was my quest for the internet.   

P.S.  I don;t like spelling correctly or correcting mistakes unless my computer automatically does it for me.  I just don't repect the English language that much.          
      

This is my first post since the wedding.  This is because I have not had the internet for 3 fucking months.  This is through no fault of my own mind you.  It's a classic case of everything being stacked against you for no apparent reason.  You try to get something to work, something seemingly simple, but it turns into an epic battle against all that is evil and wrong with telecommunications companies.
          About 3 months ago I called Verizon after searching for any type of service that I could scrounge up.  Philly wireless had problems with places above two stories and all of the indy companies didn't deliver service to my area.  So I was going to be stuck with either Verizon or Comcast.  Since I hate Comcast and their service is overpriced and always bundled with shit you don't need Verizon seemed to be the best choice.  They offered basic DSL service without having to get a phone line.  A sweet deal indeed.  This would be the last of my good fortune for months.
           I call up Verizon and wait while jamming out to some sweet elevator music.  I wasn't too annoyed at this point and I hadn't heard any good background music in a while.  I get an operator and try to explain the offer that I found on their website.  They didn't understand.  How can you have DSL without having a phone line?  I told them I don't know.  A few days later I called back, this time with the specifics of the deal.  It seemed that this was a good deal and that they try not to offer it to people so they can charge them for a phone line that they wouldn't otherwise get because they don't actually need it.  But, alas, they signed me up and said a modem was in the mail.
           Two fucking weeks later I find a note on my door saying that they could not deliver the modem to my apartment because nobody was home.  This turns out to be a problem that will plague me probably until I move out of this apartment.  Of course no one is home during the weekday between 10 and 4.  No matter how many times you come during those times and leave notes the apartment will still be vacant.  I left a note on the door saying to call me when outside and I will come and get the package (I just work a few blocks away).  I decide to come home early because there is nothing to do at work and I can be sure to catch the ups guy.  I realize I have some books due at the library, which is only a few blocks away so I ride my bike to the library and back as quick as I can.  15 minutes max.  When I get up to my door I see another note saying they tried to call me and I didn't pick up.  I must not have heard it while I was riding my bike.  Sonofabitch.  I know what this means.  Now I have to trech all the way down to the furthest reaches of South Philly just to pick up my package. 
          Thankfully, Shannon's mom lives down there and could drop it off on her way to work across the street from our place.  I get the modem and sigh in relief.  I plug it in, pop in the software and...
fucking nothing.  It's not receiving any signal from the jack.  I get a little upset but use my techy skills to try and figure out what's wrong.  Maybe it's the jack.  I desparately search the apartment for another phone jack.  Aha!  There's one behind my bed.  This means that I have to move my desktop into my room.  A hassle but anything for internets.  Okay.  Now it is picking up a faint signal but the software won't let me get past a certain screen.  I call Verizon.  This is where the fun actaully begins.  I am realizing now that this story is going to take a really long time to tell.  If anyone is still reading this I apologize for the length but owe it to the long journey I had to take to get the internet to document exactly how things could go so absurdly wrong.  I guess it's more for me than any reader.  However, this is when the story actaully starts getting funny.
         You have to enter the phone number associated with the account to get in touch with the internet people.  This has to be a Verizon number and since I didn't get a Verizon phone with my internet the automated system leaves me to fend for myself.  After travelling through a variety of departments, all separated by lengthy loops of softcore porn music I start to get a little frustrated.  At just about this time the music stops.  I am assured that Verizon cares about me and values my time.  The profanity begins, but in a relaxed sarcastic way.  Nothing like being told your time is valued by a computer and then have no one pick up the phone for another ten minutes. 
       I finally reach a human after tens of wrong departments leading back to the same menu.  They ask for my phone number.  I explain the deal I'm getting and that I don't have a phone number with Verizon.  They seem perplexed and suggest I just give them any of my numbers.  Imagine my surprise when that doesn't work.  I tell them to look up my name instead.  The fact that I had to suggest that after minutes of trying to figure out how I could have no Verizon phone service but still be getting internet from them foreshadows the level of incompetancy that I would be dealing with for the next two months.  But hey, they find my name and seemed surprised that it worked. 
        I end up going through two more departments of tech support and internet services until someone finally tells me why it's not working.  Aparantly they haven't "activated" my account.  I say that my account activation date was two days ago.  They make me wait while they check on something.  It turns out that they are doing an overhaul of the department and they wanted to clear some stuff before they activate my account.  Bullshit.  Something went wrong and they have no idea why my account isn't activated.  It was a nice attempt at a cover but it was poorly executed.  I asked why it was delayed and they couln't say exactly.  I then asked how long I would have to wait and they tell me maybe a week.  I hang up.
        I call back after a week of moving my computer back and forth and trying again and again to set up the account (all I'm waiting for is the accoutn to be actiuvated).  After the maze of music and automation (by this time the music makes me want to shave my head, paint a bullsye on it, and run into the FBI building downtown naked) I am directed to someone that can help.  I inquire about my activation date and they inform me that I had cancelled my account and my activation date.  I informed them that that was impossilbe.  They asked why.  Because I didn't cancel my account.  They seemed confused.  Why would I cancel my account if I still wanted service?
        I call back after a couple of minutes of relating to suicide bombers and start a fresh.  I know that my account has now been cancelled but how can I re-activate it and get service?  I'm sorry sir but you have to start the whole proccess over again.  We'll send you another modem.  Before even explaining to them why that is a waste of everyone's time and thier money because I obviously already have a modem I hang up the phone.
        After a day or two I call back out of desperation.  I set up the account again and am told that my activation date will be in a few days.  Maybe this time I'll get lucky.  Me and Shannon have been trying to plan a wedding now for a month without internet.  Not an easy thing to do.  At this point I'd probably trade in a body part of their choice for internet.  Going to internet cafes with a laptop that is infected with a dibilitating virus just to check my e-mail is getting old.
        There is a note on my door saying that I missed a package from Verizon.  I laugh and throw it away.
A week or so goes by and my internet is still not working.  I dread it but I make the call to Verizon.  The music and automated menus are all too familiar to me now.  Finally someone picks up.  I tell them the spiel.  My account is still not activated.  I ask him why they don't want to take my money.  He doesn't know why the account isn't activated so he tries to make up some bullshit about them running something through.  He knows I know it's bullshit but the call is being monitored so he has to say something to cover up the fact that there is absolutely no explanation for why this is.  I ask him if there is anyone I can talk to that could activate my account.  There has to be someone that physically does something that activates my account (whether through a computer or not).  I want to speak to this person. 
        He transfers me to another department who is as clueless as he is.  I realize that no one knows how any of this works.  There is no one person, or even department for that matter, that could be held accountable for anyhting because no one knows how anyhting works or how to fix it.  Reflecting on conversations of the past I realize that their job consists mainly of making up excuses for things that go wrong that they have nothing to do with and have no idea how to fix.   The wedding is coming up and I don;t have time to be on the phone for two hours every night any more.  I call to up to cancel the service.  After waiting for a half an hour to speak with someone (which wasn't as bad knowing I wouldn;t ever have to do it again) I finhally get through to subscription services.  This is all automated mind you.  I finally come across an option some 20 levels deep into the proccess to cancel service.  A voice comes on to tell me that Verizon is sorry about the wait but they are very busy at the moment and they won't be able to take my call.  They proceed to hang up on me. 
          So they cancel my service somehow when I actaully want it and refuse to let me cancel after they've wasted a solid thirty hours of my life with no explanation.  They waste the time and money to send me two modems and then refuse to activate my account which is the only step they have to take for me to pay them gobs of money for providing me with little to no actual service.  This just seems like a bad business model.  It's enough to make you laugh, cry, question humanity, and then be really fucking pissed off that you still don't have internet and you desparately need it to plan your fucking wedding.  



 
       
    

          It's 3Am but I just got back from being out and I can't go to sleep.  Crazy night. I was originally going to go out to West Philly to see some Jazz on 50th Street but when I was on my way out it started raining.  So I decided to skip it and stay in until it stopped raining.  
          Shannon was going to go out with friends to but was waiting around to hear form them.  So we decided to go grab some Guinesses while we wait.  So we played some videogames, drank beer, and did some unmentionable things that couples do.  Then I thought to myself.  Damn, she plays video games, loves beer, and loves the "unmentionables".  I could definitely marry this chick.  The real beauty of it is that usaully the type of girl I just described would end up being to good to be true (I've encountered many of them before). But this same girl is going to be teacher in Public schools because she wants to help the underserved, works two jobs to put herself through College, is a great artist and musician, has a deep love and respect for diversity and culture, is often referred to as "the sweetest girl I know" but seriously doesn't take shit from no one, is motivated and passionate, all in a100% Italian package.  It moved past the cool girl with the hang-ups long ago.  I know most of you reading this haven't really got to hang out with her much so I thought I'd share my thoughts.  I've told people before, "if I have to explain why I'm getting married to her then, well, you couldn't possibly understand so there's no use trying."

 I ended up at  Fergie's pub on 13th Street to see my buddy's band "The Great Unknown."  I saw some people I work with (the first itme seeing coworkers outside of work and drunk is always fun).  I did the rounds with all the regulars and listened to a great fuckin show.  When the music stopped we all gathered round and drank and shared stories of the last few weeks, some happy, some funny, some sad.  While we loaded up the car E.J. (bassist extrordinaire) introduced me to a couple of guys he knew from way back when.  Then, when E.J. left to go catch up with them Jordan filled me in on who they really were.  They play with "black landlord" now who is a really big Philly name is the rap/rock genre but they used to play with "the goats".  To any who don't know the goats they are pioneers is Rap.  They were the Roots before the Roots.  Full band with MC's rapping about unheard of political styling yet to be heard from other MC's.  Legends, even more so that they never sold out and they still play in bands that play in bars even though they've sold millions of records back in the day. 

I raced their car with my baike on the way home.  When I came to a stop sign they drove up next to me and repeatededly slapped my ass from the car window.  I appeared to like it as confused but probably drunk onlookers drove by in this busy intersection.  Then I thought, "bikers and motorists can share the road.  They just have to be sexy about it."  

Sorry for the rant but still a little toasted.  Hopefully when I log in next this isn't just a bunch of jibberish.    


  




 

That's it.  Put a fork in me cuz I'm done.  My parents and sister and her family were here for my graduation and we had a great time in Philly.  Bill Cosby spoke a the graduation.  He's a very funny man and way more down to earth than people give him credit for.  That was my last time having to track up to North Philly on a regular basis. 
Since I live 5 blocks away from both of my jobs I can walk absolutely everywhere which has been really nice.   Having a 10 minute walking commute kicks ass.  I had my first semi-normal week of no school.  I'm still working catering while I can in the busy season but am going to phase it out as I take more hours on at my new job.
     So I'm officially employed at Evolve Strategies as the "video production specialist."  I created the job description and submitted it to my boss.  He liked it and only had a few things to add.  We still have to work out salary and hours but most likely I'm going to try and remain on hourly pay and work around 30 hours a week.  They're all for worker's rights so they provide health insurance and everything else which is really great.  My first job working in my field.  It's worked out perfectly and I feel very fortunate to have it.  It's great experience and I've already learned more practical stuff form working there than I have in four years of College. 

The apartment is great.  Very much enjoying living in the middle of the city.  It's very busy and is usually invigorating and inspiring although it can be overwhelming on occasion.  There's jazz musicians on the corners, small businesses galore, homeless people, the super rich and trendy, working class stiffs, young and old artists, big buildings and tiny nooks and crannies to be explored.  My apartment feels like one of those nooks that I've made my home. 
I've been going out a lot with friends from all over the city.  It's nice to have time for them again.  And it'll be nice to have time for you guys reading this too.  College was a long, hard haul for me.  I was kind of forced to go through college and the few years of working after college at the same time.   I'm glad to be done and have some time  again.  Even if it's just to work, it's still so much more satisfying than going to school for me. Shannon is still in the go to school and work non-stop mode and will be for another year.  At least I'll be done and can support her more now that I'm not stretched so thin.  I'm definitely ready for my next stage in life. 

Well, just thought I'd give you guys and overview of where I'm at since talking on the phone has proven to be much less efficient than in the past (with everybody's schedule's and timezones being different).  I talked to Drew this week and we decided we should definitely try to do something fun together online.  Maybe we could find something we could do regularly.  I don't know your guys' schedule but I pretty much work 10-4  weekdays with catering gigs mostly on Friday nights this month.  I usually go out at night but can definitely plan stuff around you guys.  If you have any ideas or want to say what's up my new e-mail is payton.brett@gmail.com and I'm going to be checking livejournal a lot more now.  I've got tons of stuff to post so I'll be posting whenever I can. 

P.S. August 30th is a day that you must all be here.  No matter what it takes, even if I have to come and carry you out to the east coast on my back. 

Yo fellas.  I actually have a few minutes to post something.  Wahoo.  My semester quickly turned into the time eating monster that it usually is so apologies for the lack of posts. I'm taking 17 credits, have an internship where I work 12 hours a week, and work catering on the side anywhere from 10-30 hours a week.  So, needless to say, I'm busy once again.  But having a grand 'ol time indeed. 
    My internship is awesome.  It's on the 18th floor of a huge building on Broad and Chestnut  in center city Philly (for those who don't know Philly, it's in the middle of the downtown area, which is the third largest in the country and pretty crazy).  My ears pop when I go up to the office.  The location is great, only a subway ride away form school or a trolley ride away from my apartment.  Everybody who works there is really cool.  The company is basically a PR place for grassroots, non-profits, and political campaigns. They're in the local news all the time for representing city officials and such.   My desk is in a room with a woman running for city council and Philly politics are running through every corridor.   So that's kind of cool, getting to see the inner workings of part of Philly's massive, infamous Democratic Machine and be a part of it.  The other cool thing is actually what I'm doing.  I'm basically the guy who is in charge of their productions now.  They shoot everything from internet promo's, political ads, and short docs. 
    I got paid (an actuall paycheck) for my work for the first time.  There's a video I edited up on www.handgunsanity.org.  I had to capture, edit, render, convert, and post it all in about 4 hours.  For those of you who know how laborious and time consuming editing is you know how difficult of a task that is, especially since it was documentary footage that I had to make up a cohesive layout for on the fly.  I didn't have time to tweek the levels or transitions so its basically a rough cut that's being seen by hundreds of people, but oh well, its gotten a lot of positive feedback.  I'm working on a slew of other projects, some paid and some unpaid, but all good experience.  I'm learning tons and making good connections.  I would like to build a niche in the field and area and this has already been a great stepping stone.  Anywho, that's my internship.   I go to class only when I have to and only do the work that I absolutely have to.  I've been living like I was out of College, well, since the year before College.  All I need is that damn degree.  Next semester will probably be my last and I just need enough random credits to graduate so I'm taking Tae Kwon Do, Yoga, Africa in the 20th Century, Photography focusing on Architecture in Philadelphia, Making documentary film, and international cinema.  Should be a breeze and interesting.  Thats the story for now on school and work.  More coming soon.

So I guess this is my first entry.  If it's the only way to keep in touch with the Cincy gang, then so be it.  I submit.  I don't like myspace and facebook is getting increasingly annoying.  So here you are, reading my livejournal.  Since I don't have to contact everybody individually I think it should be much easier for me to actually post. 
        Anyways, I'm in New York, Manhattan specifically.  There is a music video being shot in our rental space at DCTV (where I work in NY, check it out at DCTVNY.org).  I'm the lucky guy who gets to take care of the building for 12 hours.  This is a silly job.  All I do is make sure everything is going well with the shoot once in a while and surf the internet and read.  Not bad for getting paid.  But definitely boring. 
        I've been commuting up to NY 2 or 3 times a week.  I crash at my friend Mizuki's place up on 119th.  I met him in Japan and now I sleep on his floor in New York even though I live in Philly.  Crazy how the world works itself out.  I stayed in Brooklyn for a with a friend of a friend for a few weeks but that didn't pan out.  I'm all over the place.  I still live in West Philly with Nate and the gang but am in South Philly and Center City often. 
      I've been applying to internships for the fall and just got a response and will have an interview next week.  I had given up on internships so I signed up for 18 credits this fall.  We'll see how that works out. 
     That's the bare bones basics on what's goin on with me.  Just thought I'd start off by filling you guys in.  When it gets down to the daily grind I got loads of stories.  I live in two crazy cities and everyday is an often life-threatening, interesteing, or hilarious.  I'll give you the details later.  Future entries will be much more eloquent, funnier, or telling but I thought I'd just update you guys. 
    I'm glad you guys are all moving on with life and are all over the place doing your things.  Welcome to the real world, its fun and shitty.   But now I think we'll all have even more to talk about.  Take care fellas.